It’s a difficult muscle to build. So much so, that men are now starting to go under the knife to have chest implants. There’s a whole treasure trove full of workouts and exercises to be uncovered to blast the chest that can sculpt your pecs and push your upper body training days to the next level.
But first, try our pec test to see if there is a genuine reason why you aren’t seeing the results you want.
Supine pec test:
- Lie on your back on the floor with your hands behind your head.
- Let your arms relax.
They should lower to the floor and rest comfortably. If they don’t…Your problem is protracted shoulders. You look more like you have a hunchback than you do fully sculpted.
The cause is you’ve spent too much time training your pectoralis major and minor, on the front side of your body, while neglecting your upper-back muscles (middle trapezius and rhomboids).
Related article: The Best Chest Exercises for Building a Broad, Strong Upper Body
How To Fix yourself:
Step 1:
- Stretch your pecs.
- Holding a pair of 5- or 10-pound dumbbells, lie face-up on a 10-degree incline bench and lower the weights out to the sides with your arms extended.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
Related article: The Beneficial Bench Press Guide To Build Your Chest And Increase Your Press!
Step 2:
- Strengthen your middle trapezius and rhomboids.
- Follow the above stretch with a prone dumbbell lateral raise.
- Lie chest down on the same bench you just used to stretch your pecs.
- Raise the dumbbells out to the sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Hold for a count of six and lower the weights to the starting position.
- Do a total of six repetitions.
Complete the entire corrective program for this imbalance three times a week until you can pass the test.